


I Need You So Much Closer

by audreyslove



Series: Lucky Charm [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 05:16:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16033733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyslove/pseuds/audreyslove
Summary: Based on the lovely art by imnikkiheatLucky Charm ("Mac and Roni") verse.





	I Need You So Much Closer

This piece was inspired by the amazing art by [@imnikkiheat](http://www.twitter.com/imnikkiheat)

 

The thing about Roni is she likes her privacy.  A lot.

She also really doesn’t want her regulars knowing anything intimate about her.

She has this tough exterior that almost seems impenetrable, as if she needs no one, wants nothing but to be left alone, loathes affection.  She may have a soft spot for children that they notice and whisper about, but she won’t let anyone get close to her.

Mac has heard his patrons joking about her.  Before he really knew her, it intrigued him. Now, it frustrates him.

Because they are so _wrong._

She’s the furthest thing from a _frigid bitch._

Mac knows her well at this point.  She may text him and ask if he’s up, that she wants him.  And she may act like a nice hard fuck is all she’s after, but the way she snuggles into his arms sometimes, how she sprawls out on the couch next to him afterwards, well, Mac knows better.

Something happened that makes her this way — so guarded, protective of her feelings.  But she hasn’t offered to share that much of herself, and he doesn’t dare ask.

He learns to appreciate what she gives him, and learns to keep his feelings about her hidden, less she get uncomfortable with the whole thing.

Lately, she’s been lingering at night, sleeping over until the morning (“accidentally”, yet not accidentally at all, he knows).  Lately their pillow talk has been a bit more deep. She tells him one night she hasn’t slept with someone — actually slept — in over a decade.

“It’s awkward, being asleep next to someone.  Sex is easy, sleep is…. I like to sleep on my own.  People snore, they hog the covers, roll around and barrel into you, I never understood why sleeping is supposed to be a group activity.” She had wrinkled her nose and sighed into his chest as they laid in bed together.  He had barely heard her confess, “I don’t mind it with you.”

Roni does that.  Says little things every now and then that makes his heart leap.  Like “I love this” when she’s lying down on his couch, her head on his lap.  Or when he made her dinner and she murmured that she could get used to this pampering, and if he isn’t careful she will be over every night.

One night he gets into a bit of a fight with a disgruntled former employee.  The man had been drunk, but young and strong, and Mac had been a bit out of sorts and unprepared for a fight.  He won with a well placed punch to the man’s jaw, but he was left with a badly bruised hand and a swollen wrist, as well as a lump on the back of the head from where the guy had shoved him against the wall.

Roni made quite a big deal over his minor injuries, icing his head, looking over his hand carefully, looking for any sign of a minor break.  After wiggling each finger for her, she iced his hand as well, and then wrapped it tight.

It was a very sweet moment which she topped by giving him one hell of a blow job afterwards (just to see if he was working normally, he’s sure).  She wouldn’t let him reciprocate, that night, told him that it was his night to heal. So if this really is just about good sex, well, that night doesn’t make much sense, does it?

He wants more than stolen moments at one another’s house, more than late nights and early mornings where they have to sneak in and out for fear someone see and rumors start.

And Roni currently has Remy opening and closing often.  She likes him, trusts him, even has him opening and closing the bar on Sunday when she used to keep it closed.

And he bet Remy could handle Monday, too.

Mac can take off, can put the bar in the hands of Angela for Monday (he already has off on Sunday).

And they can have a little holiday, just the two of them.

He’s surprisingly nervous to bring it up.  Perhaps because Roni seems so opposed to seeing them as a relationship, and a trip away makes it clear that they are in exactly that (even if it’s not a long trip, even if it’s just an hour or two away from them).

It’s the thought of having two whole days with her that has him biting the bullet.

“I love this — spending time with you at night until the early morning, but I can’t help but feel you’re a bit more adventurous than homemade burgers and Netflix,” he says as he hands her a beer as she looks for something on TV.

“You have _no_ idea,” she admits, flashing a bit of a smile.  

“But I would like to,” he says in earnest.  “I’d like to know you outside of our little bubble.”

“I told you, I dislike gossip,” she reminds, her face going stern.  “I don’t like the idea of everyone knowing our business. If they knew I was fucking the competition?  God, those old men would never let me hear the end of it.”

“And that’s fine; I agree,” Mac says, clasping at her hands in his.  “A day out and about in our little neighborhood would be all whispers and jokes in our direction, and none of that sounds fun.”

“So… what are you suggesting?”

“A little trip.” His heart is knocking as he tries to play it as casually as possible.  “Maybe we can do a little tour of the Puget Sound, then stop over in Bellingham for the night?”

“For the _night?”_ Roni looks positively frightened.  “I have responsibilities, I have—“

“You have Remy.  And I have Angela.  And we both work too hard, Roni.  We deserve some time off to visit wineries and museums and see a bit of nature… we can pretend to be tourists from Vermont or Maine, act like we are falling in love with the Pacific Northwest for the first time.  And we’d have all night and a long morning together…”

She gives him the slightest of nods and he almost doesn’t believe he had convinced her so easily.

.::.

“This is so corny,” Roni groans, unable to fight the smile on her face as she looks out of their boat into the sea.

And you know, it _is_ quite corny, Roni is right.  But they are both enjoying learning about their city and its surrounding wildlife, searching for whales, eating seafood chowder and discussing Seattle’s best coffee places with tourists.  She is _smiling_ so much, giggling and pointing out wildlife, admiring the beauty of the forest when they stop over for a short jaunt at the state park.

And she’s kissing him out in the open.  

Quite a bit.  

More than he expected.  

Well, what he expected had been absolutely no physical contact that could be remotely seen as romantic, so it is definitely more than he _expected_.  

This is more than he had _dreamed_ of.

She just keeps touching him, leaning into him, grasping at his hands, at his cheek, directing him into kiss after kiss.  He had only known her to be affectionate in bed, hadn’t imagined she is so naturally touchy-feely. He loves it, though.

He finds himself ever more enamored with her, trying to control his heart but somehow unable to do so.

She’s a different person outside of Hyperion Heights.  She’s so much more open, more daring and sweet. He loves every part of her, every aspect that makes Roni _Roni,_ and seeing this uninhibited side is yet another part to love.

“Hold up, ladies and gentlemen, we have just stumbled upon an orca whale,” the tour guide says, breaking them out of their little bubble.

They follow where he points and look out across the Pacific in time to see a spray of water and a flash of black.

Roni is leaning over the railing of the boat, breathing a little awestruck _wow._

She has a soft spot for animals _and_ children, it seems, and Mac can’t help but lean into her, press his front against her back as he looks over her shoulder at the whale, or is that—?

“Correction, that is a _family_ of orcas, two calfs and her momma.  You all are incredibly lucky. Orcas are a rare fighting these days.”

He hears Roni gasp as a small calf jumps in the air, flopping down in the most awkward and entertaining ways, the other child following suit.

“Gorgeous,”  she whispers, and then she places a hand on Mac’’s far cheek and urges him towards her, tilting to place a kiss on the opposite one.  “Thank you for taking me here.”

He presses a kiss to her brow and only hums a response.  He can’t really find words now.

She fits so well into his arms, she’s so soft and warm.  

He’s all choked up, tongue tied really, and his heart is pounding so hard his chest feels swollen, his head feels light, as if it were filled with helium, and…

It all adds up to one thing, as she reaches for him to kiss him again.

He loves her.

It’s a bit frightening, realizing how much he loves her, but it’s love, and it’s not going away.  And he knows she’s not there yet, and wouldn’t want to hear about it, but he can’t unknow this, and it doesn’t make him feel anything but elation.  He always thought unrequited love would feel… a bit more painful, but this is not that. It’s wonderful.

For the rest of the trip every smile makes his heart skip a beat, every snarky little comment makes him laugh a bit too much..  

“This is the happiest I’ve been in I don’t know how long,” Roni laughs as they catch some sea otters at play.

“I feel the same,” Mac admits truly.

She elbows him the ribs, telling him to find his own material.

And that’s the thing with Roni.  She’s not going to let herself go entirely sentimental on him.  She likes their banter, likes the snark. And he’ll give it to her.

It’s gray and cloudy when they finally reach shore, but Roni’s face is like the sun, all warm and bright and effortlessly beautiful.  

“So,” Mac says, hoisting her into his arms and looking the definition of smug.  “Now I know you fought me on this trip, but did I have a good idea, or did I have a good idea?”

She’s a soft and understated, wrapping her arms around his neck, her voice smooth like caramel, admitting, “It was more than a good idea.  And I mean all of this. Everything.”

He can barely contain his smile, because he knows she is talking about them, about not only this moment but all the moments.

Soon he will be inside with her in a decadent, luxurious hotel (she will expect a cabin, he knows, or a quaint BnB, and that’s exactly why he went to this place, that, and the fact she deserves to be treated as a queen every now and then). He will spoil her while she rolls her eyes and tell him he wasted money, that she’d fuck him in a motel six, for fucks sake.

But she will know he did all of this without wanting anything but her happiness in return, and he hopes somehow it will make her happy, realizing and appreciating her value.

He won’t be able to tell her he loves her, not today, perhaps not anytime soon.  But he’ll show her in every way he can, spend every ounce of time they have alone making her feel cherished and loved.


End file.
